The invention relates to a disposable neonatal patient ventilator circuit for an automatic ventilator where all components that are exposed to contamination from the patient (including a disposable breathing control valve) are packaged together in a disposable unit external to the automatic ventilator.
Ventilation of neonatal infants presents a number of difficulties, which are not encountered with adults. The lungs of newborns or premature babies are liable to collapse and due to their unique makeup, once the lungs are collapsed neonatal lungs are extremely difficult if not impossible to re-inflate. As a result, infant ventilation includes maintaining a constant patient airway pressure to prevent collapse, and automatic ventilation improves infant mortality rates significantly over manual ventilation.
Ventilation of premature infants usually involves the supply of pressurized gas at a constant flowrate of between 0.5 to 5.0 liters per minute. Automatic ventilators are preferably utilized by this function however quite often the conventional method of infant ventilation merely involves inflating the infant""s lung with pressurized breathable gas through a conduit connected to a mouth piece and deflation manually by alternatively placing the operator""s thumb and removing the operator""s thumb from an exhaust port.
Due to the critical nature of maintaining constant airway pressure, the danger of under inflation and irreversible lung collapse, as well as the danger of overinflating the infant""s lungs causing lung damage or distention of the stomach, this commonly used manual method is very unsatisfactory. Preferably, automatic ventilators should be used for all patients including neonatal patients. However, the perceived high cost often inhibits adoption of automatic ventilators.
It is an object of the invention to provide a modified neonatal patient ventilator circuit for use in association with an automatic ventilator that facilitates the provision of constant positive airway pressure.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a neonatal patient ventilator circuit wherein all components that are exposed to potentially contaminated exhaled air from the infant can be packaged in a single unit that is inexpensive enough to be disposable and eliminates the cost and downtime associated with sterilizing components of the automatic ventilator.
Further objects of the invention will be apparent from review of the disclosure and description of the invention below.
The invention relates to an inexpensive disposable neonatal patient ventilator circuit for use with an automatic ventilator. All components that are exposed to contamination from the patient are packaged together in a disposable unit external to the automatic ventilator. The automatic ventilator has a receptacle with a pressurised breathable gas supply port, a breathing control circuit port, and preferably a patient monitoring port. The disposable neonatal resuscitator unit matches the ports on the automatic ventilator with a removable plug having a pressurised breathable gas supply connector mating the gas supply port of the receptacle; a breathing control circuit connector mating the control circuit port of the receptacle and a monitoring connector mating the monitoring port of the receptacle. A patient interface, such as an endotracheal insertion tube or mouth insertion manifold, has an inlet and an outlet each in flow communication with the neonatal patient""s airway. A gas supply conduit communicates between the patient interface inlet and gas supply connector of the plug. Breathing control valve, in communication with the interface outlet and with the breathing control connector of the plug, serves to exhaust exhaled pressurised gas from the patient airway when open and retaining pressurised gas in the patient airway when closed, in response to open and close signals communicated by the automatic ventilator via the breathing control connector of the plug.
Further details of the invention and its advantages will be apparent from the detailed description and drawings included below.